


Let's Hear it for America's Sweethearts

by thatonedudewiththename



Series: Jack's a Little Different [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Pen Pals, Rock star!Jack, Septiplier AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 23:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4412474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonedudewiththename/pseuds/thatonedudewiththename
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It'd been three years since they last spoke to each other, but the longing had never truly gone away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This au is everything to me

It'd been a long, _long_ day for Mark Fischbach; he'd been incredibly busy all day, had gotten little sleep, hadn't been able to take a break to eat, and just generally he was burnt out. With a loud groan, he fell onto his bed, clothes and shoes and all, and fell asleep.

He'd probably only been out for a couple hours when he woke up from the sound of his stomach growling angrily at him; grumbling incoherently, he got out of bed and took off his clothes down to his socks and underwear, then shuffled out to his kitchen with the intent of eating that half a sub he still had in his fridge. He got it out and collapsed onto his sofa so he could eat it.  
It was three AM, not exactly ideal viewing time, but he turned on the TV anyway for background noise. It'd been left on the music channel, the lady on screen talking about a band she was about to interview. "... Originally from Offaly, Ireland, this band of four formed when the members were in college have blown up the hard rock and metal scene since their new album 'New Nightmares' dropped last year." The camera panned out to reveal four guys sitting on a sofa to the interviewer's right. She turned to them with a smile. "Hey, guys."  
They all said hello, their accents heavy and all different. The interviewer asked, "Why don't you all introduce yourselves and your role in the band?"  
The first guy, a brunet, spoke into his mic. "I'm Conan, I do t'e vocals and guitar."  
He passed the mic to the man sitting next to him, a guy who appeared to be of Asian descent with black hair. "Em Padraig, I play bass."  
Next was the tallest of the group with sandy, curly hair. "My name's Eanna 'nd I play t'e guitar."  
The last in the line was a man with a large arm tattoo and grey hair that was half-coloured blue. He wore gauges and seemed full of energy; Mark thought he looked incredibly familiar and sat up, leaning forward on the sofa. The guy spoke loudly into the mic with a huge grin on his face. "I'm Sean, or Jack, and I play the drums and write t'e songs with Conan!"  
Mark's eyes widened to the size of quarters and he gasped, consequently choking on a bite of his sandwich, spluttering and coughing- that was _JACK!_ That was him, his penpal from years ago! Sean! "Oh my God..." He mumbled.  
They'd lost touch three years ago, though why Mark couldn't remember. Jesus, he looked... different, although it was in a good way. He'd gotten greyer and a lot more buff, that's for sure, and he'd actually gone through with getting that tattoo he used to always talked about. A strong wave of nostalgia and longing filling his gut, making him smile a little; it was nice, seeing that Jack was doing alright. He'd sometimes thought about him and how he was doing, whether or not his band had taken off. Now he knew. On the TV, the interviewer was talking to Jack. "So, Sean, was it always your dream to be in music, or was it just something you got into?"  
"Ahm, well, I've always been a bit of an audiophile, so music, ahm, it was somet'ing that I loved- well, sounds, which is why I like movies so much. I went to college for audio engineering originally, which is where I met Eanna, but they gave me a bunch of extra classes I didn't want so I dropped it as my major."  
"Oh! What did you end up majoring in?"  
"As strange as it sounds, hotel management." Everyone laughed, including Jack. Mark hadn't realized how much he'd missed that sound. Sean kept talking. "I had plans to do something with that degree, but t'e band made it not necessary."  
Right, Mark remembered that. Jack was supposed to move to Korea with his girlfriend after he graduated. Obviously, that hadn't happened.  
"So, was there ever a time when you guys almost split up?" The interviewer asked.  
The bandmates all started talking at once, Jack being the loudest. "I didn't t'ink it'd work out. There was a point where I felt like me life was goin' nowhere, until... someone talked some sense inta me."  
"Who was it?" The interviewer seemed infinitely interested.  
Jack was smiling fondly. "His name was Mark. We were penpals for a couple years, but we don't talk anymore. He was such an inspirational guy... I miss him sometimes."  
"Wow, sounds like you really looked up to him."  
"Yeah, I guess ye cen say t'at."  
Mark had slapped his hand over his mouth sometime during Sean's speech and was only just realizing it. "He still remembers me," He said in shock. "Holy shit."  
The interview was over, and a music video for one of the band's songs began to play. It was all dark and grungy, with stark whites and reds, plus Jack's eyes, blue as the inside of an iceberg. He looked so good, the muscle shirt he wore covering almost nothing. At one point in the song, he had a vocal part. "I can't seem to find you. New nightmare, when will you let me take you away?" His voice was... different. Kind of throaty, but not unpleasant. And he just absolutely killed on the drums.  
Mark turned off the TV after the video was over and dragged himself to the bathroom so he could wash his face and brush his teeth, Jack still on his mind— seeing him after so long, and on TV no less was a strange experience. Nice, though. He rinsed his mouth out and flicked the light off, shuffling to bed and climbing under the sheets with a sigh because _finally,_ he was going to get some sleep. Before he did, though, he went on his phone and looked up Jack's band, finding their Twitter and then finding Jack's personal one and following it. After that, he locked his phone, set it back on his nightstand, and went to sleep.

*

He hadn't set an alarm, so when Mark woke up, it was 11:23 AM and the first video he'd scheduled had already gone up. He felt a lot more rested and just generally better than he had when he'd gotten home earlier, so he sat up and swung his legs off the bed, standing up and grabbing his phone so he could check his notifications; Twitter stuff, Tumblr- wait a second. He went to his Twitter and scrolled through the notifications until he found what he was looking for: "Septic Jack is following you". For a second, he couldn't process what he was reading- Jack had followed him back? No way. Yet there it was, the check mark by his name. "Oh man," He mumbled, a smile breaking across his face. He went to Jack's profile and DM'd him, 'Hey! Do you remember me? Its Mark from three years ago, we were penpals.'  
Into the bathroom he went to brush his teeth and pee, though not at the same time because that would result in disaster. His phone dinged, signalling that he'd received a message, so he picked it up and unlocked it, selecting the notification and letting out a yelp past the toothpaste in his mouth at the reply that Jack had sent. 'Oh my god! I just looked through your pictures and holy shit it is you!! How ya been??'  
'Good! I saw your interview w your band last night and i couldn't believe it was you lol! How are you?'  
'Better now lol! So you youtube now? Thats pretty cool!!'  
'Yeah its a fun job. Not as cool as being in a band tho! Im happy for u! I told you things would work out.'  
'You always were right and smart! Hey do u want my number? Itd be easier than twitter dm lol'  
'Yeah! Hit me up w it.'  
Once he got it, he immediately saved it under "Jack" and texted him. 'Heyo'  
'Alright cool I've got u saved :)'  
':D so what are u doing right now?'  
Mark got dressed while he waited for Jack to reply, pulling on his pants just before he did, taking his phone up again to read the message; it was a picture of Jack on a sunny sidewalk, wearing pixel-style sunglasses and grinning. There was also a text attached to it. 'Hangin out in LA B)'  
Jack was... cute, in that photo. Mark saved it and used it as his contact icon. He then replied with a selfie of his own- shirtless, whoops- and a text of his own saying, 'Im getting dressed :P I live in LA! Wanna meet up?'  
'Course I do!! :D'  
'Ok! Where are you, I'll come to you!'  
'Im about to enter the jamba juice at the franciscan metro center'  
'Alright, see you in a bit!'  
'Okie smokie!'  
Hopping in place with excitement, Mark tweeted out that he "Just got back in contact with an old friend!! Im going to meet them for lunch now! :D".  
Jumping into his blue boots and pulling on his thin white shirt, he grabbed his keys and wallet and practically skipped out of his apartment and down to his car, getting in and starting the ignition, imputing the location of the Jamba Juice into his GPS. It was only a fifteen minute or so drive from his place, which gave him plenty of time to prep himself for meeting Jack in person for the first time ever. It was... kind of daunting, but overall it was just exciting, like damn, not only did it take them five years to meet face to face, but now Jack was an actual, real life celebrity. Well, he shouldn't say that it, implied bad things- in Mark's mind, anyway.  
He hadn't even realized that he'd pulled up to the Jamba Juice until he saw Jack standing in front of his car, leaning casually against the building on his phone; he was wearing a muscle shirt much like the one he'd had on during that interview, only this one was red and had upside-down crosses all over it and his sunglasses hanging from the collar, with dark blue skinny jeans that were ripped up and had a chain hanging from the left side; on his feet were red and black Vans, and his hair was a reddish-purple, almost a magenta, and in his ears were red and black gauges. His wrists were decorated with many bracelets, and his neck adorned with a choker. Also, Mark could've sworn he had on eyeliner. God, he looked- "Good, he looks really... really good." He mumbled. Clearing his throat and shifting his gaze, he turned off the car and got out, wringing his hands together as he walked up to Jack with a grin. "Hey," He said.  
Jack whipped his head up and a smile lit up his face at the sight of Mark. "Hey! Man, I can't believe it's you!!" He cried. He went in for a hug, which Mark accepted graciously, the feeling of him pressed up against him foreign but not at all uncomfortable. After a second, they pulled back.  
"You look great, dude! You've changed so much." Mark told him.  
"You mean I actually have a sense'a fashion now?" Jack laughed.  
"That, too."  
Jack gave him a once-over, the corners of his mouth lifting up into a smirk. "Yer lookin' fresh ta death, bro. Nice to see ye with yer shirt on."  
Mark chuckled. "Thanks."  
"Well, why don't we head inside? I'm dyin' fer a smoothie."  
"Right, yeah!"  
They went inside, Sean opening the door for them both, Mark noticing that he had chipped black nail polish on his nails. It suited him well.

They caught up over smoothies and flatbread pizza, time slipping by, and before they knew it, they'd been together for hours and the sun was setting. In the middle of Jack's rant about the importance of good sound design in games, his phone went off and he answered it with a disgruntled expression. "Ugh, my manager is tellin' me t' come back to the studio." He grumbled.  
"Oh, I don't want to get you in trouble or anything—" Mark said.  
"It's alright, I should be headin' back anyways."  
Mark followed Jack out of the café and onto the sidewalk, the light of the sunset casting a heavenly glow over the Irishman's face. Mark could stare at him forever. "Do you want to take a picture together?" He asked.  
Jack grinned. "Yeah!"  
Using Mark's phone, they took a selfie together, Mark feeling flustered at how close Jack was to him. After the picture was saved, Jack hugged him again; Mark breathed and caught the scent of bodywash and deodorant, both vanilla but one with a sharp afterscent. "I'll catch ye later, Mark." He told him, smiling and waving.  
"For sure, Jack." Mark waved.  
And then Jack was gone.  
Mark posted the selfie on his social media sites before getting into his car and driving home, thinking of Jack the whole ride back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a concert in Tokyo and Jack likes to use Snapchat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY APOLOGIES FOR SUCH A LATE UPDATE, I DECIDED TO WRITE THIS FIC WHILE I WAS DOING A BUNCH OF OTHER SHIT AND BURNED MYSELF OUT ;_;

Jack talked to him often after that. The selfie of them that Mark had posted on his social media sites had blown up in his fandom (apparently a lot of people were fans of Raised to the Ground); of course, fanart was drawn of them together. Mark didn't mind it– at least now he had a reason to go out socially and not just for business reasons. They texted a lot and tweeted at each other constantly, always trying to make plans to meet up as often as they could, though with their busy lifestyles that usually ended up being once a week or every other week.

One night, while Mark was trying to sleep, he slipped into a half-asleep state and began to dream of... Jack. They were at one of his concerts, Jack up on stage with his band, who were changing songs. Before they began to play, Jack called Mark up with him, and they sang and played the drums together, much to the excitement of the crowd and Jack's bandmates. When the song was over, Jack held his hand and kissed him.  
That was when Mark opened his eyes, breath heavy, face red, and right hand feeling empty. Well... "Shit," He whispered croakily. "Fuck."  
He barely had time to recollect himself when his alarm went off, signalling that it was time for him to get up for work. Jack had made him get a Snapchat (a private one, he only gave it out to him) since he preferred it over texting, so when he unlocked his phone he had a couple snaps from the Irishman. The first was of Jack in the back seat of a van with one of his band mates, the Asian guy whose name he couldn't remember. "on our way to the airport to Tokyo!" The caption read. The second snap was of Jack lying in a bed, shirtless, looking a bit disgruntled. "flight was cancelled until tomorrow :/" Said the caption. Mark's eyes went wide at the sight of him– _that_ was unexpected.  
He'd barely gotten a chance to take the picture in before the ten seconds were up and he was left staring at his Snapchat feed, face still red and a weird feeling at the bottom of his gut; he replied to the snaps with what he hoped was a normal face. "I hope you make it to your show! :D"  
He set his phone down on the bathroom counter and washed his face before brushing his teeth, staring at himself in the mirror, grimacing at the dark bags under his eyes from his restless night of half-sleep; maybe that concealer Suzy gave him would work. As he was getting the small, cylindrical container out of his bathroom cabinet, he heard his phone go off and reached for it absentmindedly and unlocked it, swiping down to read the notification; a snapchat from Jack. Mark opened it to find a picture of Jack, hair wet, having obviously gotten out of the shower, smiling at him, with text that read, "thanks!! good to see you! :D"  
Mark replied, "Good to see you too! Good morning btw"  
"morning! got any plans today?" Jack was wearing a shirt now– if you could even call it that, it barely covered anything– and was grinning brightly, his oceanic blue eyes shimmering in the bright lights of bathroom he was in.  
Before he replied, Mark spit out his toothpaste and rinsed out his mouth, doing a stupid face for his reply to his friend. "Just gonna record a couple videos :) then work out"  
Once it was sent, he went out to his room and pulled a random shirt from his closet, slipping it on so he didn't feel so naked, then walking back in front of the mirror so he could put that concealer over his under eye bags. He rubbed the makeup in until it looked natural, then rinsed his fingers off and put the container away, hearing his phone go off twice. He picked it up and looked at Jacks's reply. "you should come to my show in tokyo! id love to" The snap ended and Mark selected the next one. "see you there and hang out with you!"  
The dream that Mark had had last night came flashing back to him at light speed, and before he could think on it, he replied, "Yeah! Sure! :D"  
He sent it, and immediately regretted it. "Shit... shit, I didn't mean to do that!" He cringed; but really, in the back of his mind, he knew that wasn't true— he had meant it.  
He was about to send another reply when his phone dinged, signalling that Jack had replied. He opened it, seeing Sean with the most excited, sunny expression brightening his pale face and making his blue eyes gleam. "awesome!!! ill come pick you up around 6??"  
There was no getting out of it now. "Yeah, ill be waiting!"  
"sweet! alright ill let you work. see ya bro!"  
"see ya!"  
Sighing, Mark walked out of his room to the kitchen so he could get some sustenance before heading to the Grump's office to record. 

*

After recording two games, a quick vlog, and to finish up a music video with the Cyndago guys, he left his videos with his editor Matt to fix up and schedule for the next two days– except for the vlog, that was going up today– (he already had other videos from a game he'd finished), and then headed home to pack for his trip, which hopefully was only a couple days long. He packed a few outfits, his charger and battery pack, another pair of shoes, underwear and socks, a jacket, and his camera. In the front zipper, he put a razor, his toothbrush and toothpaste, some mousse for his hair, and his contacts, just in case he wanted to wear his sunglasses.  
As he was zipping up his case and backpack, he realised, _'Wait, I don't have a plane ticket or anything!'_ However, he didn't get to dwell on that thought long, for there was a knock at his door and a snap from Jack telling him that he was outside. Mark grabbed his stuff and power walked to his front door and opened it, smiling at Jack, who was standing on the other side. "Hey buddy! Ya ready?" Jack asked.  
"Yeah! But I don't have a plane ticket or anything–" Mark told him.  
Jack waved it away with a quick flick of his wrist. "Don't worry about it, Marv already got ye a seat. C'mon, let's go!"  
Mark left his apartment and closed and locked the door, making sure everything was turned off and that his security system was on. Jack was practically levitating with excitement, taking Mark's hand in his and basically yanking him along to the stairs of his apartment complex and down; Mark had been blushing from the moment Jack had touched him, and it had only been made worse by the fact that Sean had laced their fingers together. "M' friends are really excited t' meet ya!" He told him.  
They'd made it down to the parking lot by now, with a large van waiting for them. "I'm excited to meet them, too." Mark said.  
One of the back doors of the van opened and out popped two of Sean's band mates. "'Ey, Jackaboy! Got'che boyfriend?" Padraig, the bassist, shouted.  
"Is that the infamous Mark our li'l drummer won't shut up about?" The guitarist, Eanna, teased, leaning out behind Padraig.  
"Shut t'e fock up, ya douchebags." Jack flipped them off.  
Padraig and Eanna, along with the lead singer Conan, helped Mark put his stuff into the back of the van, Padraig afterwards saying, "Come sit by me, ay? Conan can sit in t' back where he belongs."  
"Uh..." Mark tried to say.  
Jack plopped in between him and the bassist with an air of jealousy, tossing an arm around the back of Mark's seat. "Let's get goin'!" He shouted.  
Their driver peeled out and headed to the airport, going way too fast for Mark's liking, but sitting next to Jack made him feel a little more at ease. Conan leaned forward and started talking to him in a loud whisper, as the others were shouting and just generally being noisy. "So, you're the infamous penpal that Jack never stopped talking about."  
Mark nodded. "I, I guess."  
"You really made an impact on him, yaknow? He never really talked about t'is wit' t'e ot'ers, but, he missed you t'ose few years you two didn't speak. He actually..." Conan paused to laugh. "He actually wrote a song about you for t'e album t'at just came out. One of our most popular ones, I t'ink."  
Heat rose up onto Mark's cheeks at the new information being revealed to him via the band's lead singer. He shifted in his seat and wrung his wrists. "R-really?"  
"Is t'at so hard t'a believe?"  
"Well, I– I don't, I mean..."  
"Listen, look at me," Conan tapped Mark's head, Mark turning to look at him. "Don't lead m' boy on, alright? Just come out 'n tell 'im how ye really feel before it's too late."  
"Oi! Conan! Quit hogin' Mark!" Jack pulled Mark closer to him, Conan holding up his hands and sitting back in his seat.  
Jack beamed at Mark and held his hand, staring at him with such intensity that Mark wanted to shrink. His whole body was warm and his heart was pounding. The emotion must have come forth onto his face, because Sean furrowed his brows and leaned in a little. "Are yuh alright?" He asked.  
"I– I– I, uhm... Yeah." Mark smiled a little and squeezed Jack's hand in his.  
Sean wiggled in his seat and grinned.

Their plane began to board shortly after they got to the airport, so they had to quickly go through customs and then enter the plane; Mark got a seat next to Padraig, while Jack sat to their bottom right with Eanna, and then across from them Conan and the band's manager Marv. They all talked and yelled out to each other until they were about three hours into their flight, which was calm time for everyone. Mark started to read a book on his phone– Under the Dome by Stephen King– getting about to chapter five before Padraig bumped his shoulder. "Watcha readin' t'ere, Mark?" He asked.  
"Under the Dome." Mark answered.  
"Oh, I read that. Pretty good!"  
"Yeah?"  
"I liked t'e twist endin'."  
"Well, don't spoil anything for me!"  
Padraig laughed. "I wouldn't do t'at t' ya," He ruffled his short hair, giving Mark a sultry smirk. "Y'know, y' don't seem like t'e kinda guy Jack could get to like him."  
Mark's brows furrowed and he shifted away from Padraig. "What d'you... mean?"  
"I mean..." Padraig leaned closer and poked Mark's chest. "You're too good for 'im."  
An unreasonable anger caused by Mark's sudden protectiveness of Jack caused him to glare at Padraig and turn so that he was facing him. "I happen to like Jack, a lot, and he likes me, so that should be enough. _Excuse_ me."  
Mark stood up and strode back to where Marv and Conan were sitting and asked Marv to switch with him.

*

The concert for Raised to the Ground in Tokyo was at 7:20 in the evening, but they had to be there a few hours early to not only help get everything set up, but to also get settled in their hotel and rest before the show. Although Mark wasn't a part of the band, Jack wanted him to be with him at the concert, mostly just to be with him, Mark was guessing. Their hotel was very fancy and shiny and futuristic-y, which Mark thought was really cool and not at all what he was used to. Regardless, he dropped his suitcase and backpack by his bed and dropped down onto the bed, letting out a long sigh. Jack, whom he was sharing a room with, sat on the other bed, laughing softly. "Tired?" He asked.  
"Yeah." Mark replied. He rolled onto his back and sat up. "I'm gonna take a nap." He took off his sweatshirt and shoes, then beginning to unbutton and unzip his jeans. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jack turn red and look away, scratching the back of his head and clearly trying not to stare. Mark couldn't help but smile some at that.

He slept for a couple hours, and then was woken up by Jack. "We gotta get to the concert, c'mon." He said.  
"Yeah, yeah..." Mark mumbled, curling up tighter into a ball and dozing off again.  
Jack shook him awake once more. "Come on, Mark, it's time."  
Mark grumbled. Slowly, he sat up and stretched, then got up from bed to get ready for the concert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I'll update more!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A concert and a pool party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed to get my mind off of recent events, so I thought why not spread a little love?

By the time the band and crew plus Mark had made it to the concert, the stadium was already packed to max capacity, which was around thirty thousand– relatively small for a stadium, but still a _lot_ of people. "Weren't t'ey spposedta wait until we had everything set up?" Eanna asked Marv.  
"I'll ask the technicians. Wait here, guys." Marv said.  
They all waited around behind the stage for a couple minutes until Marv returned with the stage manager, a tall, fat woman wearing a snazzy business outfit. "Our apologies for the crowd. We were under the assumption that we would be setting up and taking down."  
"I guess the memo didn't go through." Marv said, shrugging. "Ah well. You guys ready, or do you need a half hour?"  
Conan looked to his band mates. "So?"  
Padraig and Eanna nodded. "I'm ready."  
"Me, too."  
Jack eyed Mark, seemingly disgruntled, but he nodded, as well. "Ye, I s'ppose so."  
Mark turned his mouth up and gave a little shrug; looks like they wouldn't be hanging out much, after all. He was escorted into the front row of the crowd, right in front of the stage, with two bodyguards flanking him on each side. The lights on the stage changed to slow flashes of red and white, illuminating the faces of the crowd– well, the first few rows, anyway. Mark stared up in amazement at the light show as the people around him screamed in excitement, Jack and his friends jumping up and down and waving, Jack especially. Conan grabbed his mic tightly and shouted into it, "ARE YE GUYS READY T' _PARTY?!?!"_  
Everyone screamed except for Mark, who just shouted out, "Woo!"  
Jack grabbed the mic from Conan and said into it, "We got a surprise f'r ya at the end of the show, so stick around!!"  
There was a lot of shouting and cheering in response; Mark was curious as to what the surprise could be, since neither Jack nor any of his bandmates had mentioned anything on it on the way over here. Regardless, he was excited, both for the mystery and for the concert— this was his first concert in a long time, and in another country, at that. If it was anything like how the car rides with the band were, then he was in for one hell of a show.

On stage, everyone was in their places, Jack behind the drums, Padraig and Eanna flanking Conan, who was at the front of the stage, on either side. Jack began to play very softly, the beat matching that of a heart, syncing with Mark's own, growing louder and heavier until finally, at the crescendo, the guitars and bass guitar jumped in with a bone-rattling explosion of sound, making everyone in the crowd scream and jump up and down in tune with the music. Conan started to sing, if you could call it that, a lot of the fans singing with him; although it wasn't really Mark's thing, he could appreciate the energy the whole show gave off. It was electric and very, very intense, not only because of the music, but also because of the level of concentration all of the band members had on what they were doing— Sean was the only one who was grinning madly and seemed to genuinely enjoy what he was doing; like, yeah, the others were clearly enjoying themselves, but for Jack it was like it was euphoric, like he'd been waiting to drum his whole life and now he was _finally_ able to do it. For Mark, that was endearing. It made him smile and that fluttering in his chest increase in intensity.

The last song they were going to play before the show was over and they had a meetup with fans backstage was their most popular song, "Never Forgotten". Mark had heard it on the radio a lot and knew the lyrics fairly well. "For t'is one, Em not gonna be singing," Conan told the crowd, "We have, instead, a very special guest..."  
Jack did a flip off of his drums and slid on his knees over to Mark, hand out to pull him on stage. Mark realized what was happening and shook his head. "I don't think this is a good idea!" Mark shouted over the noise.  
"C'mon! It's gonna be fun!" Jack replied. There was an excited twinkling in his eyes that drew Mark in wholely; he wanted to be close to Sean. Knowing that look in his eyes was for him made Mark melt.  
He took Jack's hand and allowed himself to be yanked on stage. Conan said into the mic, "This is Mark, Jack's friend, also known as Markiplier on Youtube! Give him some noise!!"  
The eruption of shouting and cheering that resulted made Mark jump a bit as he took his place on stage next to Jack, who handed him a microphone. Conan moved back to in between Eanna and Padraig, with Jack vaulting back behind his drums— he seemed to just be full of boundless energy. It was one of the many qualities that Mark admired about him, always had; in fact, it was his admiration for Jack's energy and work ethic that had helped him get back on track with Youtube way back when.  
In the present, the musicians behind him had started to play, softly, as it was a softer song than what they usually played. Mark tried to recall the lyrics, but that turned out to not be necessary, as Conan whispered the opening lines to him and counted down to when he needed to sing. When the cue was given, Mark sang.

_"I was in love, but you didn't know,_  
_"You were everything to me, but I didn't let it show._  
_"My love, where did you go?_  
_"I miss you in the pouring rain,_  
_"I miss you in every breathless pain._  
_"Baby, you're seared in my brain._

The music stopped, but Mark kept singing.

_"They say love is a mistake,_  
_"But it's a risk I'm willing to take,_  
_"Because for you, baby, I would break_  
_"Every bone in my fucking body,_  
_"If you'd take me by the hand and kiss me._  
_"Maybe, baby, take me and fuck me,_  
_"Oh, I don't care,_  
_"As long as you're there_  
_"To run your fingers through my fuckin' hair."_

Jack and his band mates picked back up, much louder than before, Mark feeling himself sway to the music; the congregation of people were moving, as well, some with their phones out, others with their hands in the air, but all clearly enjoying the sound of their favourite band and the mystery guest.  
When the song was over— it was relatively short— Jack flipped over his drumset and landed beside Mark, taking his hand and positively beaming. Mark flushed deeply, both at the display of affection and at the look in Jack's eyes, like Mark was his whole entire world. Something Conan had told him came back to Mark like a slap to the face: _"He actually wrote a song about you,"_  
His eyes widened at this realization, but before he could question it, Sean kissed him. He kissed him, and Mark felt all breath leave his body in that instant. In so much shock, he didn't get to enjoy it, as Jack pulled away before the initial "holy shit" factor wore off, leaving him standing there, stiff, wide-eyed, and with his mind running a million miles a minute while also standing still. 

After the show and the fan meet up, Jack took Mark's hand with a smile as they all walked back to the car. "D'ya wanna hang out at t'e hotel? I hear t'ey got'e pool!" He asked.  
"Uhm, sure." Mark agreed, smiling a little.  
"Did someone say pool?!" Padraig shouted, running up to Mark and Jack and hanging off of them. "Count me in!!"  
Conan pulled him away and locked an arm around his shoulders. "We have plans, Padraig."  
Padraig genuinely appeared upset at that, eying Mark with this _look_ that Mark never wanted to see again. "Let's go, Sean." He mumbled, and pulled him along to the car.

 

*

 

The pool was on the fifteenth floor and was heated. Mark came out of the showers, wearing his swimming trunks and carrying a towel, Jack trailing after him and hopping up and down. "Yeah! Pool party!" He shouted, doing a cartwheel straight into the pool, the water splashing up and onto the floor, tickling Mark's feet from where he stood a foot or so away. Smiling, he questioned loudly, "Do you ever _not_ have energy?"  
Jack surfaced from the blueish-tinged, clear water almost like he was in a commercial for waterproof sunscreen, or something equally as ridiculous. "What didya say, Mark?" He asked.  
"Do you ever not have energy?" Mark repeated.  
"Nope!" Jack flopped onto his back and began to float. "Gotta live my life!"  
Mark chuckled and set his towel down onto one of the chairs so it wouldn't get wet and stepped over to the edge of the water, dropping down onto his butt with his legs up to his mid-calf submerged in the chlorine-scented water. Sean swam up to him and rested on the edge next to him, his skin sparkling just as bright as his aquamarine eyes due to the droplets of water running down and dotting his pale, pale, body— well, the part of him that was exposed to air, anyway. "Are ya gonna get in, or are ya just gonna watch me?" He smirked and plopped his head onto his forearms, turning it so that he faced Mark with his left cheek exposed.  
Mark sat back on his hands and kicked his legs like a child would, splashing the water out and up, though not by much. "I might."  
Jack watched him for a while; Mark pretended not to notice, simply sitting and staring out at the view of nighttime Tokyo through the big glass walls opposite him.  
He felt a hand settle on one knee, and then another grip his right one. He looked down to find Jack holding both of his legs with a mischievous glint in this eyes.  
"What?" Mark asked.  
"Hold your breath." Jack said.  
"Wha—"  
Jack grabbed his shoulders and suddenly he was in a different world; no sound, with everything swirling and enveloping him in a rush of movement. Opening his eyes, he found that Jack was beneath him, still holding his shoulders, staring at him, the two of them suspended in the deep end of the pool. For a moment, time stood still and it was just them in their own little world beneath the waves, floating, eyes in each other's.  
Mark didn't know when they surfaced, but they did, Jack no longer touching him but still staring at him with that same intensity; it honestly scared Mark, with how much emotion was being thrown his way by one person, how much love Sean seemed to have for him. It was.... overwhelming, to say the least. "Jack," He mumbled, voice hoarse.  
"Mark?" Jack replied, hopeful.  
"I— I don't know..." He tried to convey. "I don't know if I..."  
"Don't know if ye what?" Sean swam a little closer.  
No matter how he worded it in his head, Mark couldn't find a way to say what he wanted to say in a way that made sense. "Uhm," He shook his head. "Never mind."  
"H–hey, what is it?" Jack reached out and grabbed him softly by the arm.  
"It's nothing, really, I was just being stupid."  
"No, you're not." Jack rebutted sternly. "You're not stupid."  
There was another moment of them staring into each other's eyes, but this time it wasn't broken by anything; Jack pulled Mark closer to him, closer and closer, until their faces were inches apart. Mark was shaking and couldn't look at Jack directly.  
"Mark," Jack's voice when he said his name sent shivers down Mark's spine.  
He looked at him, and when he did, Jack closed the gap and kissed him with all of the energy and passion Mark had been getting from his stares all night, and Mark melted. He melted into Jack like a chocolate bar in a warm hand, clinging to him and kissing him in return, fingers running through Jack's hair and clutching tightly. Jack sighed and tightened his grip on Mark, moving them back to the edge of the pool and against it so that if they needed to hold onto something, they could do it easily.  
They didn't pull away for what was probably ten minutes, just kissing and touching sensually; Mark could barely breathe when Jack touched him normally, so this was unbearable— it felt like his whole body was plugged into an electric socket and Jack was a wire stripper, just waiting to tear him open and expose his sensitive insides to the water around them. Panting and shivering, he pulled back to try and calm down, but Jack wouldn't let up, turning his attention to the skin of Mark's neck and shoulders with greedy lips. Mark gasped and his breathing shook, the hands he had on the edge of the pool next to him and on Jack's back turning to claws digging in. "J–Jack!" He cried. "W... Wait!"  
In response, Jack stopped and looked at Mark in concern. "What? What is it?" He asked.  
"Please... I need a minute."  
"Oh, okay! I'm sorry."  
Mark smiled wearily, eyes half-lidded and face completely flushed red. He could feel the thumbs on his hips making small circles on the flesh there, and could see Jack watching him with that never-ending fire in his eyes that Mark knew burned only for him. "I just want to keep kissing you and never stop." Jack told him in a low, rough tone.  
A skip of Mark's heartbeat was a result of those words. Letting out a trembling breath, he replied, "And I never want you to stop kissing me."  
That was all Jack needed to hear.  
They got out of the water and walked side-by-side to the showers to rinse off, drying off and heading back to their room in relative silence. When they'd made it, Mark stripped off his wet swimming trunks and changed into a pair of underwear and pajama pants. Behind him, he could hear footsteps drawing nearer and relaxed in anticipation of Jack's inevitable hands sliding around to his stomach, pulling him back and flush up against him. Mark let go of the shirt he'd been planning on changing into and allowed himself to be pulled onto the bed and kissed everywhere, wrapping his arms around Jack and sighing at the feeling. 

Eventually, the sun would come up, but as long as they were together, time would have to wait.

End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for sticking around between long updates, guys.


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